The Clair V. Langton Papers consist of
materials created and assembled by Langton, primarily during his years as
faculty member in physical and health education at Oregon State University
from 1928 until 1964. In addition to substantive records of the national
and regional organizations in which he was active, the collection includes
correspondence, course materials, publications, military and personal
records, ephemera, and photographs.

Clair Van Norman Langton was born on November 1, 1895 in Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada to Margaret and Robert Langton, and grew up in Michigan.
He served with the U.S. Army in El Paso along the Mexican border in 1916
and 1917, and in Europe in 1918 and 1919. From 1922 through 1928 he was
captain of the Michigan National Guard Signal Corps. In 1923 he received a
B.S. in Education from the University of Michigan. He received a M.S. in
Public Health and Hygiene in 1925 and a Doctorate in Public Health in
1928, also from the University of Michigan. From 1923 through 1928 Langton
was the Assistant Director of Intramural Athletics at the University of
Michigan and taught physical education and hygiene.

Langton came to Oregon State College in 1928 as Director of the
Division of Health and Physical Education, and served in that capacity
until 1964. Langton received the Doctor of Education degree from the
University of Oregon in 1938. He wrote numerous articles for professional
journals, authored
Orientation in School Health in 1941 and
Principles of Health, Physical Education, and
Recreation in 1962, and co-authored several other books on health
education.

Langton was very active in many national and state professional
organizations, as well as the Corvallis Rotary Club. He was a fellow of
the American Public Health Association and the American Association for
Health Physical Education and Recreation. Langton married Hazel F. Edwards
of Detroit, Michigan, on December 26, 1923; they had a son and a daughter.
He died on April 19, 1973 in Corvallis. Langton Hall, formerly the Men's
Gymnasium, was named for him in July of 1973.

The Clair V. Langton Papers consist of materials created and assembled
by Langton, primarily during his years as faculty member in physical and
health education at Oregon State University from 1928 until 1964. The bulk
of the collection consists of materials documenting Langton's involvement
in state, regional, and national professional organizations, including the
Oregon Tuberculosis and Health Association (OTHA), the Western College
Physical Education Associaion (WCPEA), and the American Association for
Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (AAHPER). The Papers also
include substantive correspondence as well as course materials,
publications, military and personal records, ephemera, and
photographs.

The collection documents Langton's teaching and writing in health and
physical education, school health programs and teacher training, public
health, hygiene, and sanitation.

Processing Note

The Langton Papers were initially processed in 1993; the materials were
re-foldered and a finding aid with folder-level list was prepared.
Additional processing was conducted in 2010; at that time the papers were
arranged in series, the small 1996 addition was incorporated, and the
finding aid was significantly revised and expanded.

Acquisition Information

The papers were donated to the Archives in 1979 by Langton's daughter,
Marie Langton Swancutt. Additional materials, including 3-dimensional
artifacts, were donated to the Horner Museum in 1979 by Swancutt; a small
number of documentary items from that donation were subsequently
transferred to the OSU Archives in 1996.

Series I: Professional and Civic Organizations, 1949-1973Return to Top

Series I includes correspondence, minutes, reports, committee records,
and related materials for national, regional, and state organizations in
which Clair V. Langton was involved. Many of the organizations pertain to
physical education and public health such as the American Association for
Health Physical Education and Recreation (AAHPER); Oregon Tuberculosis and
Health Association (OTHA); and Western College Physical Education
Association (WCPEA). The series also includes materials documenting
Langton's involvement in Corvallis' civic organizations, including the
Century Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary Club.

Series II consists of lecture notes, term papers, and class records for
courses taken by Langton at the University of Michigan and taught by him
at Oregon State. Courses include bacteriology, chemistry, epidemiology,
hygiene, and physiology. The records for the Science Education courses on
School Health Problems include student records, for which access may be
restricted.

Container(s)

Description

Dates

Box

6

Bacteriology Notes

circa 1925

6

The Body

5 folders

1945-1961

6

Charts

undated

Class Lectures

1925-1950

Box

6

Anatomy, Speech, Mental Testing

circa
1925

6

Basketball, Baseball, Football, Track

circa 1925

6

Chemistry

1925-1926

6

Sociology, Community Organization

circa
1925

6

Sanitarian's Short Course

1950

Box

6

Community Center

Class paper.

1925

7

Elementary Math Statistics

1926

7

Epidemiology

circa 1955

7

Forest Sanitation and Rural Sanitation

3 folders

1923-1939

7

Hygiene

2 folders

circa 1938

7

Illustrations

undated

7

Medical Care as a Public Health Function

1937-1957

7

Michigan State University Summer School

2 folders

1958

7

Notes

undated

7

Philosophy of Education, Organization of Higher Education,
University and College Teaching

2 folders

1937

7

Physical Education Handbook

1926

7

Physiology

circa 1925

7

Planning School Building Programs

2 folders

1937

7

Public Health and Prevention of Disease

3 folders

circa 1935

7

Sanitation and Mental Health

2 folders

circa
1935

7

School Attendance

1923-1935

7

School Health Programs

2 folders

circa
1955

7

School Hygiene

2 folders

1933-1939

8

The Scope of the Administration of Physical
Education

undated

School Health
Problems

Access must be approved by the University Archivist because of
confidential information.

Series III consists of Langton’s correspondence documenting both
professional and personal matters. Most of the correspondence is arranged
alphabetically by correspondent. It includes both sent and received
correspondence. The correspondence pertains to Langton's publications and
research as well topics in physical education, public health, and health
education.

Container(s)

Description

Dates

Box

8

"A" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"B" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"C" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"D" Miscellaneous

1956-1957

8

"E" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"F" Miscellaneous

1956-1957

8

"G" Miscellaneous

1956-1957

8

"H" Miscellaneous

1956-1957

8

"J" Miscellaneous

1957-1958

8

"K" Miscellaneous

1957-1958

8

"L" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"M" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"Mc" Miscellaneous

1957-1958

8

"N" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"O" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"P" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"Q" Miscellaneous, Questionnaires

1957-1958

8

"R" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"S" Miscellaneous

1956-1958

8

"T" Miscellaneous

1956-1957

8

"W" Miscellaneous

1957-1958

8

Miscellaneous Correspondence

8 folders

1920-1964

Correspondence

1920-1972

Box

8

John & Arthur Allens, San Francisco, California

1952-1953

8

Robert J. Antonacci

1954-1964

8

Eastern Michigan University

1965-1972

8

Eastern Michigan University Alumni

1959

8

Elmer D. Mitchell

1953-1962

8

Harper & Bros. Publishers

2 folders

1940-1948

8

H.M. MacEdwards

1973

8

Richard F. Irvin

1963

8

Langton and Anderson, Health Principles
and Practice

1952-1961

8

Life Sciences

1961

8

Mitchell-Stocks

1965-1971

8

Model United Nations

undated

8

Senator Wayne Morse

1949-1952

8

Mosby (Publishers)

1963-1964

8

Raymond G. Nabelung

1951-1955

8

Lloyd Olds

1954-1963

8

Organization & Administration of the
School Health Program

1948

8

Orientation in School
Health

1957-1961

8

Orientation in School Health
permission letters

1960

8

Personal

2 folders

1931-1972

Box

8

1931-1939

8

2 folders

1957-1962

9

4 folders

1950-1972

9

Portland Convention Brochure

1961

9

Principles of Health, Physical
Education, and Recreation

1961-1963

9

Public Health Information

1947-1958

9

The Ronald Press Company

1959-1961

9

Williams

1945-1948

Series IV: Manuscripts of Publications and Speeches, 1931-1964Return to Top

Series IV contains multiple manuscripts (including drafts and
revisions) of Langton’s publications as well as talks and speeches he
presented. The series also includes a proposal for establishment of a
School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Oregon State
University.

Container(s)

Description

Dates

Box

9

The Conservation of Human Resources - Drafts and
Notes

2 folders

1956-1961

9

Drugs

undated

9

Hygiene Guide Book

undated

9

Orientation in School
Health

11 folders

undated

9-10

Principles of Health, Physical Education
and Recreation

4 folders

undated

10

Proposal for the Establishment of a School of Health, Physical
Education, and Recreation

The military records include correspondence, orders, papers, military
ephemera, and handbooks pertaining to Langton's military service in the
U.S. Army and the Michigan National Guard and his later participation in
military training activities.

Series VI consists of Langton’s personal documents, including his vita;
calendars; birth records and wills; personal budgets, receipts, and tax
records; academic transcripts; materials pertaining to the estates of his
parents, Robert Langton and Margaret Putnam; and Hazel Edwards' diary for
1920.

Series VII includes reference materials assembled by Langton and
publications written by Langton and others. The series includes issues of
several physical education journals and magazines and clippings of
newspaper articles about Langton.

Container(s)

Description

Dates

Box

10

Archiv fur
Anthropologie

One issue; in German.

1923

10

Dental Health

1961-1962

10

Disease Care

undated

11

Health Articles

2 folders

1923-1962

11

Health Pamphlet

1929-1941

11

Man and His
Environment

Several talks and articles by Langton on this topic.

1962-1969

11

Michigan Journal of Physical
Education

2 folders

1928-1932

11

Michigan Reports on Health

1922-1926

11

Newspaper Clippings

1958-1964

11

Oregon State Monthly

May and June 1930 issues of the alumni magazine; May issue includes
article, "Every Man an Athlete".

Series VIII documents Langton's participation in various committeees at
Oregon State as well as in faculty governance and university
administration. Of special note are a 1964 proposal for graduate programs
in health, physical education, and recreation; teacher appraisal forms;
and evaluation schedules and accreditation standards in physical and
health education.

The photographs include portraits of Langton; images of family,
friends, and colleagues; and illustrations taken, prepared, and assembled
for Langton's publications. Most of the images are b/w photographic
prints; some b/w negatives and color prints are also included.